I let him wash my hair, and once we were both clean, he turned the shower off and wrapped me in a towel. “Time for bed, little mate.”
Maverick kicked open his bedroom door, and I choked back a laugh to see Zane lying on the bed wearing nothing but a naughty grin.
From the ominous growl, Maverick was about ready to tear the incubus apart, so I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. His angry rumbles faded before he sighed against my lips.
“Be good, little mate. I have no self-control where you’re concerned. Let me brush your hair, and then you need to sleep. It’s long past midnight.” I tried to protest but ended up yawning.
Maverick gave me one of his tees to wear before demanding Zane close his eyes while I pulled it on. Naturally Zane didn’t listen, which led to more growls and threats. But I was too tiredto care. I let Maverick comb my hair and then crawled into bed, falling asleep the minute my head touched the pillow.
Cold, damp air sliced me to the bone. No fire burned in the grate this time, and most of the wall sconces remained unlit. I padded across the stone floor, my senses all telling me something was very wrong.
When I reached the bedroom, I thought for one horrible moment the vampire had passed beyond the veil before reminding myself that if he had, there would be nothing but a husk. He wasn’t dead, but he didn’t acknowledge my presence. His aura had faded from deep magenta to pale gray, and the sharp cut of his cheekbones beneath sallow skin highlighted how thin he’d become.
Rasmus was fading before my very eyes.
“We have a spell.” Tears trickled down my face, soaking the sheet draped over his emaciated body, which made no sense because I wasn’t really here. Maybe this was my mind playing tricks on me.
We couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to cast the spell, with or without Alar-dick’s help. Glynda had concerns we’d mess it up, but I trusted her.
“Hurry.”Gaunt fingers gripped mine and squeezed.
“I will come for you.”
A faint smile touched his full lips.
“Yes, witch, you will.”
I shivered at the latent power in his voice. The vampire would be truly deadly once he regained his full strength, and a dark part of me couldn’t wait.
8
Raven
“We can’t do the spell here,” Glynda hissed, eyeing Maverick’s cabin with concern. My brow scrunched in confusion.
“Why not? I have all the ingredients here.”
My witch friend rolled her eyes. “Um, because if it goes wrong, we’ll burn the place down. There’s a reason spellcasting lessons take place in the underground rooms of the main academy building, Raven. The walls there are thick stone and protected by wards to reduce the risk of damage caused by fires and explosions.”
I glared at her. “Are you suggesting I might cause an explosion?”
She nodded. “Your magic is temperamental, and this is a tier-ten spell. We shouldn’t be risking it without supervision, but I guess that’s not an option. Unless…” She squinted and tappedher fingers on Maverick’s kitchen counter while he stood back, watching the pair of us.
He’d avoided commenting so far, but from the concerned expression on his face, he was also worried I might blow myself up, or worse, blow us all up.
“You need help if this spell is dangerous. It’s too risky trying to cast it alone.”
I threw my hands in the air in frustration. Since waking from my dream of Rasmus, anxiety had eaten a hole in my gut. Every time I thought of how weak the vampire had been, I wanted to cry. Knowing we had the spell ingredients was the only thing keeping me from having a meltdown. And since Montgomery had canceled all lessons, now was the perfect time to cast it without interference. Besides, the headmaster was too busy organizing the cleanup operation after last night’s disaster to worry about what some random first-years were up to.
Today was the day. Tomorrow the school closed for the winter break, and all second- and third-year students would head home. First-years stayed on campus. We couldn’t leave until the end of the summer semester. It seemed like a stupid rule, but the Supernatural Council ruled many years ago that first-years lacked experience in controlling their abilities, so they were safer contained in a secure environment.
Not that the campus felt especially secure. From what Glynda had told me, a lot of parents were trying to pull their kids out, worried about the risk of further demon attacks.
The headmaster had done his best to stop news of the attack from leaking, but several students had live-streamed footage of a hellhound attacking two shifters. The clip had gone viral on Magigram and WitchTok, and despite the Mage Council’s attempts to have it taken down, it was still trending.
Three million views and counting.
“You need a mage,” Zane said when he popped into view next to Maverick. Glynda yelped in shock, spilling her coffee everywhere.
